I believe the most important testimony in the hearing came from Harvey Schwartz, a Boston-area attorney and raw milk drinker. He urged Commissioner Soares to reconsider the course that the MDAR has charted with respect to raw milk buying clubs. (The MDAR is simultaneously claiming that they are already illegal, and trying to create a regulation making them illegal.)

Schwartz spoke of the legal notion of agency. He stated that the buying club arrangement was a principal/agent relationship. He observed that under Massachusetts state law, you can contract an agent to perform all sorts of transactions for you, including writing checks, executing legal documents, buying cars, buying real estate, making end-of-life decisions, and buying vodka, cigarettes, and prescription drugs. And you can have an agent buy a cow full of milk for you. Or an entire farm, including its contents. So why should it be illegal specifically for an agent to buy you a gallon of milk?

Schwartz's argument convinced me that the legality of buying clubs in Massachusetts will ultimately be confirmed. It may just be a question of finding someone who's willing to challenge the law, and someone who's willing to foot the legal bill. I don't think it will be hard to fill these roles.

For those of you who like to have the whole picture, below is a wrap-up of the event, with lots of context (because I love context).

Selling raw milk is one of the best (and indeed only) ways for a small dairy farm in New England to stay in business. Raw milk drinkers pay $6-$10/gal directly to farmers for raw milk, while processors pay farmers only $1-$2/gal. People have been buying milk on-farm for many years in Massachusetts. They have also formed raw milk associations and buying clubs of various sorts. One motivation has been that most of the people are in the east of the state, while most of the milk is in the west. A milk-drinker who wanted raw milk could give their money to someone who would go to the farm to buy it for them. In some cases, these arrangements were informal, with groups of friends taking turns driving to the farm. In other cases, small businesses were formed to do the errand, generally charging a fee to cover the cost of operations and to support a small staff. These buying clubs extended the reach of raw milk sales considerably, and saved many driving miles, too.

In December, Commissioner Soares sent a letter in support of Eastleigh Farm's bid for a license to sell raw milk in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, citing the above observation about the economics of small dairy in Massachusetts. Soares has historically been a faithful ally to Massachusetts farms; indeed, part of the state purpose of the MDAR (on their website) is "[w]orking to keep Massachusetts agriculture economically and environmentally sound".

In February, the MDAR started sending cease-and-desist orders to some of the more visible Massachusetts buying clubs. The clubs receiving these orders seem to have complied.

It's not clear what prompted these orders, if anything. There was no public health crisis or outbreak. David Gumpert, a leading expert on raw milk policy, shares his thoughts here. Importantly, many of the dairy farms rely on the business provided by buying clubs. The farms are in financial danger without the clubs.

In April, the MDAR published a notice announcing a hearing for public comment on some proposed changes to the regulations governing raw milk in Massachusetts. Among other things, these proposed changes appeared to make it illegal for anyone to distribute raw milk anywhere but on its farm of origin. I wrote about this here. Interestingly, the MDAR claims that even at present, raw milk sales are only legal on-farm; yet if this is indeed the case, then the reg changes should be unnecessary. Boston Localvores address this point in greater depth here.

The MDAR's move caused quite a stir in the raw milk community. A pre-hearing rally was scheduled, and key raw milk activists made plans to fly in from out-of-state.

The MDAR hearing would take place Monday, May 10, at 10AM.

At 5:10PM on Friday, May 7, the MDAR announced that they were withdrawing the proposed changes regarding the distribution of raw milk, and that they would not hear public comment on the withdrawn changes; instead, they would hear comment only on some other, much more technical changes having to do with disinfection procedures for bottle caps, composition of barn floors, and so on.

Reactions to the MDAR's last-minute change were mixed, as I wrote here. NOFA, for instance, saw this as a sign that the people had been heard. David Gumpert saw it as a sign that the people had been denied the chance to be heard, and the government would try to go ahead with its original plans regardless.

The morning of the rally was clear and crisp. Local and national raw milk advocates gathered on the Boston Common, along with a bluegrass band, and most importantly Suzanne, a cow from Eastleigh Farm farmer Doug Stephan's herd. Suzanne was certainly the first cow to have grazed on the Boston Common in a long time. An impromptu press conference was held, we milked Suzanne, and we drank some milk.

We walked the few blocks to the municipal building where the hearing would take place. The room was inadequate for the number of people who wanted to attend the hearing; many were turned away. Beyond that, the room was not configured well. Comments were taken at one end of the long room, and there was no microphone or amplification system, so it was difficult to hear at times.

The MDAR heard perhaps five or so comments on the proposed changes regarding milk caps, barn floors, etc. After that was done, they agreed to hear comments on the withdrawn changes.

The hearing lasted about three and a half hours, which was twice as long as originally planned. Commissioner Soares, his staff, and the public all showed great patience, even during a sometimes emotional hearing.

Many, many people offered their comments, many of them quite insightful. I offer grateful acknowledgment to them all, and I regret that I cannot reproduce the comments here. Anyone who is interested can get a full transcript by calling 617-626-1700 and asking for a transcript of the MDAR public hearing of May 10, 2010, regarding raw milk. If you are curious, I would encourage you to do so.

Commissioner Soares said that the MDAR would review the public comment, and announce its plan of action within the next 30 days. Needless to say, I am curious to see what will happen!

An affirmative message was sent to food regulators around the U.S. as a raw milk freedom rally, centered at the Boston Common (a park area in downtown Boston), proved that unprocessed food supporters have the courage to stand up for their Rights. A large group of activists, from as far west as California, joined a pure jersey cow named Suzanne to show opposition against the cease-and-desist orders issued by MDAR (Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources) to MA raw milk buying clubs. Suzanne, belonging to a herd owned by popular talk radio host Doug Stephan, stood patiently across the street from the state capitol building while thirsty people lined up to milk her. California's celebrity/rock-star raw dairy farmer Mark McAfee was first in line for the milking.

McAfee did not hesitate to quickly summon Max Kane of Wisconsin to "grab the other side of the bag". McAfee and Kane were squeein' away while giving an oral explanation of milking to the media. A dozen cameras captured the event as the line for fresh warm milk continued to grow. Many others jumped on the "handles" to milk. Signs and banners proclaiming farm freedom and consumer rights circled the event as a hired band provided music. Inspiring speeches led by Mark McAfee, Max Kane, and David Gumpert iced the rally's cake.

The supportive crowd paused for a picture in front of the capitol building, and then continued to march to a scheduled MDAR milk hearing two blocks away. The hearing's purpose was to receive public comment on newly proposed milk regulations in MA. With hopes to avoid getting a good old-fashioned education at their own hearing, MDAR pulled some of the language from the proposed regulations only days before the hearing. The bait-and-switch had no effect, as farm to consumer freedom supporters packed the hearing and overflow rooms anyway.

[raw milk drinkers provide feedback to Commissioner Soares]

The main room erupted in applause after each testimony. Despite the fact that MDAR removed language, the department still maintained that the buying clubs are illegal. This leaves the issue somewhat unresolved as MDAR has yet to retract the cease-and-desist orders they issued.

[Ed: Max Kane is an outspoken citizen-activist from Wisconsin. He has stood up for his rights on numerous occasions, even at great personal risk. I have blogged about Max and his story here.]

Sunday, May 9, 2010

There will be a hearing on the subject of raw milk tomorrow, Monday, as described here: 10AM, 100 Cambridge Street second floor, Boston MA, USA.

There will also be a rally tomorrow before the hearing, starting at 8AM, on the corner of the Boston Common near the Park Street T station. I heard a rumor that a cow was coming to the rally! Bring cameras, cow bells, cow outfits, and shiny distracting things. I may bring some raw milk to drink and share, in violation of the formerly proposed regulations.

Formerly? The nominal purpose of the hearing has changed, as of Friday, mere days before the hearing (without statutorily-required due notice). The reg changes that would have affected raw milk buying clubs have been taken off the table; this hearing will only deal with some other, less interesting issues.

Some believe that this change of purpose indicates that "the people have been heard" (NOFA Massachusetts). Others take it as a sign that the MDAR is planning to do an end-run rather than going up the middle (David Gumpert), and that, to mix a metaphor slightly, we should not trust the MDAR officials any further than we can throw them.

I'm afraid I belong to the latter camp. The MDAR's handling of this situation has been shifty on at least two grounds, and there's no reason to think that things will get any better.

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Books I've Read Recently

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, by Weston A. Price: Rather that theorizing abstractly about human nutrition, the author sought out isolated groups of healthy people around the world (this was in the 1930s, when there were still isolated groups of people), and documented their foodways. Price's book is jaw-dropping (literally). He describes group after group of people who are healthy in isolation, and become sick, miserable, and toothless when they adopt a "modern" diet. Aren't you curious what they were eating when they were healthy? Full write-up coming soon.

Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji and Yoshiki Tsuji: A masterwork on the subject of Japanese cuisine, and by extension, Japanese culture.

Winning Bicycle Racing, by Jack Simes: A short, fascinating book on the subject of bicycling, published in 1976, when the majority of men still wore moustaches. And as with any bicycling publication, there are some great facial expressions.

The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies, by Mark Booth: A truly fascinating, meticulously documented look at the evolution of human consciousness and religion. What are some of the connections among different religions' creation myths and pantheons? Why are there astrological and other "pagan" symbols in Christian rites? Did you know that "elohim", the Hebrew word in Genesis typically translated as "God", is actually a plural noun? And so on. N.B.: the book describes an almost exclusively male experience. I think Booth could have done more in the front material to explain this, or at least to notify the reader of the orientation.

The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy, by Sasha Issenberg: The history of sushi and the sushi supply chain, detailing the journey that your fish takes from the cold ocean to your neighborhood sushi bar, often by way of Tokyo. Sasha Issenberg focuses on the lives of the people involved in the sushi trade. Fascinating and well-written.

The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice, by Trevor Corson: The story of some students at a sushi academy—and more generally, the story of sushi itself. A wonderful book, entertaining, thorougly and carefully researched, and instructive. It makes me want to eat sushi. Or write about it. Similar, but only a bit, to The Making of a Chef, by Michael Ruhlman.

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